Page 62 of From the Embers
“What do you mean it’s not your place to have an opinion? Jesus, Bree. She might be your husband’s daughter. Are you ever going to be able to look at her and not see Rob and Jessica together?”
Oh, my sweet Eason. His whole world was upside down, on the verge of falling off axis, and he was worried about me.
Pushing up onto my toes, I pressed a deep and promising kiss against his mouth. When I released him, I kept our faces close, needing him to feel my words as much as he heard them.
“I see you in her, Eason. The way she giggles when she steals one of my M&M’s when she thinks I’m not looking. The way she loves with her whole damn heart and smiles with her whole body. The sparkle in her eyes when she sees you sit behind the piano, ready to dance wild and carefree. All the things I love about that little girl have not one thing to do with how she was made, but rather they’re because of who you made her to be.”
“Oh, God,” he rumbled, full of emotion as he wrapped me up in a hug so tight I wasn’t sure I could breathe.
But while I was safe in the warmth of Eason’s arms, oxygen was an afterthought.
I smoothed a hand up and down his back. “We’re going to do this. We’re going to do it together and we’re going to make it okay for them. That’s what we do, and no matter how this plays out, that is what we will continue to do, okay? I’m here, Eason. I’m right here.”
His embrace drew me even closer. “God, Bree. I love you so fucking much.”
My heart stopped and I fisted the back of his shirt. I had no idea if that was a romantic I love you or genuine appreciation for being there in his time of need, but no matter what form it came in, it didn’t change the truth. “I love you, too.”
His arms cinched around me.
We stood there in the middle of a messy playroom, holding each other, supporting each other, and loving each other through everything life had thrown at us. But in those seconds, with our entire world sleeping on the couch, it felt like maybe there had been a purpose to the hell we’d had to endure to find each other.
“Will you stay with me tonight?” I whispered. “Luna can sleep in Madison’s room. We’ll sleep in pants and set an alarm so you can get up before Asher? I just really need to be with you tonight.”
His head popped up, his brown eyes finding mine with a blistering intensity. “There’s not a force in the world that could keep me away.”
My cheeks got hot, and I bit my lip to hide my smile. “Then we better hurry up and get these three in bed before the universe takes that as a challenge.”
Eason didn’t as much disagree as he sprang into action.
EASON
“What are you doing?” Asher asked as I exited the pantry.
“Ummm…” My back shot straight and I quickly shut the door, leaning against it as I panicked under his scrutinizing eyes. “I, um, was just…looking for a snack.”
“What kind of snack?”
“What is this, a pop quiz?”
He canted his head to the side. “Maybe. Were you kissing Mom in there again?”
“Maybe.”
It wasn’t my fault. Bree had come downstairs in a pair of sexy-as-fuck jeans and a tank top that hugged all her curves just the way I liked. We were heading out as soon as Evelyn arrived, but there had been less than a zero percent chance of me keeping my hands off her for that long.
He stared at me for a long second, and it did not matter one bit that he was a kid and weighed less than fifty pounds, he could be terrifying—just like his mother. Finally, he gave me a curt nod like he was the freaking Godfather. “Can I have candy after lunch?”
“Sure.” Anything to stop the interrogation.
He grinned. “Is it okay if we use the cushions off the other couch for our fort?”
I shrugged. “Works for me.”
“Cool.” He sprinted away.
I waited until he’d disappeared before cracking open the door to the pantry. “The coast is clear.”
On the other side of the door, Bree unscrewed the top of a container of protein powder. “I’m not sure giving him a mouthful of cavities is the best way to handle your guilt for feeling up his mother.” She pulled out a bag of M&M’s and dumped a few in my hand.
“I panicked, okay? He’s a nice kid. But he can be seriously scary sometimes now that he knows about us.”
She laughed and put her secret candy stash back on the top shelf. “He’s working you, ya know? Stop being weird when he catches us. I get not wanting to shove it in his face, but candy isn’t going to change the fact that he’s eventually going to have to get used to us touching each other.”
